Miami Dolphins officials will delay plans to meet with blocker Jonathan Martin until after he speaks to the NFL and a lawyer hired to investigate the intimidation that provoked him into leaving the team.
The Dolphins announced they would postpone Wednesday's scheduled meeting so he could first explain his situation to the league as part of its investigation into workplace issues such as bullying, threats, racial insults and intimidation by teammate Richie Incognito that allegedly went on in the Dolphins locker room.
"Out of deference to the process, we will cooperate with their request," Dolphins president Tom Garfinkel said in a statement. "We look forward to meeting with Jonathan as soon as possible."
Dolphins players have supported Incognito, a fellow offensive lineman who played alongside Martin, and Incognito says e-mails of threats, racist comments and intimidation were simply part of the locker room context of communication.
Ted Wells, the lawyer selected by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to explore the matter among all areas of the Dolphins organisation, was expected to meet with Martin later this week.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross says the team was "committed to getting to the bottom" of what led Martin to leave the team two weeks ago and to "making any necessary changes to improve our organisation."
Incognito told Fox Sports that he has never bullied Martin but admitted his remarks might have been too harsh and regretted using racist language.
In their first game since the scandal broke, the Dolphins lost to Tampa Bay on Monday, surrendering the first victory of the NFL season to the Buccaneers.
